Uncle Dave

Why do forgiveness (sprinkling) and obedience come together as a package? Put it this way, if a judge lets you go for something you did wrong, why would you continue to do whatever it was that got you into trouble in the first place? Why is it deceptive to think you can have one without the other? It’s like having a bad stain removed from a shirt and someone pays a high price to have it done for you only to put the shirt back on and go roll around in the mud. It means the person who paid to have the shirt cleaned wasted his money on you and you have no appreciation for what was done. It’s like the lepers who didn’t return to thank Jesus. Extra credit: If true faith requires obedience, how can we say that we are saved by grace rather than works? (Ephesians 2:8-10) Jesus was tempted by Satan to jump off the high place of the temple and Jesus replied, “thou shalt not tempt God”. God’s grace saved Jesus by giving Him the wisdom not to follow what Satan desired of Him. Just like us being saved by Jesus from our sins which would cause eternal destruction. We were saved from them so now that you’ve been cleaned up you need to stay that way. Don’t be like the person who would make a mockery of what Jesus has done for us by putting on the cleaned shirt and rolling in the mud.

How would you describe the behavior of a Christian who identifies more with his present homeland than his heavenly one? Behavior like this is more like someone who really needs to get their priorities in order. This type of behavior is extremely dangerous! It is one that can get worse…like a cancer. Have you ever caught yourself doing this? Yes, this has happened to me many times, in fact, I catch myself in that state often times now. What has to happen to get our spiritual priorities straight? Find out what is drawing oneself to the world and put it into the past, or behind. It could be something as common as watching the news on tv, or even seeing an ad while on the internet which while not ****, could be considered exotic, or likewise. Once these things are identified, action needs to be taken and that means now, and not “the sooner the better”.

Is the Kingdom of God present now? Yes, the Kingdom is here among, and within us (those who choose to accept that). In what sense? In spirit and visibly by the way His people live their lives. What are the present limitations of this Kingdom's power, if any? When will the Kingdom of God be fully manifest to all? If there are any limitations on this Kingdom’s power it would come under lack of faith. Jesus often talked about this. The Kingdom of God will be complete upon the return of our King, Jesus.

How do you understand Jesus' saying, "The Kingdom is within you" or "in your midst"? The Kingdom of God is within us if God’s spirit is within us. This is evident by a person’s lifestyle. Kingdom, by definition according to dictionary.com is: a state or government having a king or queen as its head. anything conceived as constituting a realm or sphere of independent action or control: Jesus is King and His Kingdom is the realm His people live in. The way I see it, there are two "realms" to choose from--the Kingdom of the World or the Kingdom of God. We are in the world, but not of it. One can very easily see members of either of these realms by looking around, reading the news, That puts the Kingdom in our midst. If is up to us to choose which Kingdom shall rule over us as it comes from within. What does this teach us about Jesus? It brings up the age-old question of who can understand the mind of God, but the bottom line is that Jesus is the King and we can either choose to, or not to follow Him. There is no in-between, you either follow Jesus or Satan. Just like He separated the light from darkness and gave them different names in the beginning of Genesis. One might say there are many colors between white and black but they are all reflections, or the breakdown of white, while black is simply the absence of light. There are many people who claim to be neutral but there is no neutral zone on this one, you either choose Jesus or judgement.

What did the term "Messiah" mean to the Jews? To the Jews, they believed the Messiah was coming to restore Israel and sit on the throne, only as a descendant of David and not, in reality, God. How does Daniel's Son of Man exceed this understanding? Daniel’s Son of Man passed this idea up in the way that He came to forgive the sins of the whole world (including the Gentiles) and not just Israel. Why does Jesus primarily use the title Son of Man rather than Messiah or Son of God? Jesus used this title as a show of humility, along with the fact that His ministry would have been cut short long before it’s time had He gone around using the title “Son of God”.

What are the elements of Daniel's prophecy of "one like a son of man"? He arrives on the chariot of clouds, like the prophecy in Revelation What is he given by the Ancient of Days? He was given all authority, power, and glory. What clues do you have to the divinity of "one like a son of man" in Daniel's prophecy? He comes in riding on the clouds of Heaven---God’s chariot.

What is the relationship between the tabernacle in the wilderness and the Kingdom of God? When the Israelis would set up camp, the tabernacle was in the center of everything. In the same way Christ should be the very center piece of our lives, everything we live for, everything we do, etc.,. How do God's Kingdom and glory come together in the wilderness tabernacle? When the cloud settled over the tabernacle and God’s glory filled it.

Why does Moses hunger to see God's glory? Why does Paul press on? What spiritual hunger do you see in yourself? How might you increase this hunger? How might you satisfy this hunger? Because of Moses’ incessant search for the truth and the same holds true for Paul. Paul’s reason is because he considered anything short of searching for Jesus as loss. I see a pretty strong hunger in myself, much, much stronger than when I first learned about Jesus and opened a Bible and couldn’t close it. After having fallen more than once, falling hard as a matter of fact, I have personally seen the power of God at work when He is searched for relentlessly. The way to increasing this hunger is by feeding it, but, to satisfy it? Never happen. One can never get enough of Jesus.

Why do you think God's glory is associated with judgment and consuming fire? What happens when people willfully disobey God and his laws? Why can't God's holiness coexist with sin? This set of questions have taken much thought as to how I would spell out my answer. Maybe I’m just not that great at putting things into words, but my answer has not changed since the beginning. Why is God’s glory associated with judgement and consuming fire? To say it’s God’s way or the highway would put many at odds with the way it is. God gives us much freedom but at the same time it needs to be remembered that such freedom needs to be within the realm of His system of order. Just because you have freedom, it doesn’t mean that you can do harm to your neighbor without expecting some sort of punishment. Nobody wants their neighbor to raid their house, so why would one even think about doing the same to someone else? That is why God has laws that which make it wrong to hurt your neighbor. The consuming fire reducing the rebellious to no longer being capable of doing bad deeds could be compared to a good sweeper picking the dirt up from a rug- that which does not belong is removed. Maybe that is why God allows things to happen to us which are uncomfortable, that is, so we might understand what happens when you have a system with no structure. Who would want to exist eternally without order? It just wouldn’t work. I believe God has something beautiful for all who pursue it but whoa to those who don’t! To those who see fit to willfully disobey God and his laws, if you thought it was tough in this life you have no future to look forward to. The Bible states in more than one place that there is a furnace ready and waiting. I always refer to this as the “goat cooker”. I get this term from the 2nd half of Matthew 25. Holiness can’t coexist with sin because, in the way that God’s glory is associated with consuming fire, you could think of sin as a flammable gas which would be consumed by fire leaving no trace behind.

Reputation glory is something you earn through various means, such as the valor a military hero earns through bravery on the battlefield where derived glory is something which, really isn’t glory but the reputation one carries simply by people relating to people someone hangs out with, but inherent glory, that, is true glory, a natural glow from within. As far as the glory involved when praising God, I will have to go with reputation glory because I’m giving glory to the one who deserves it all! Glory within me, I have no glory within me. My best hope would be to reflect God’s glory.

What character flaws does Diotrephes exhibit? He was self-centered, prideful, controlling, domineering, a slanderer, and a mean person. I’m sure there were others. Can a person be a strong pastoral leader without developing these traits? Yes, a person can do this is he learns to be humble and stay that way. If you have tendencies in yourself towards pride and a controlling spirit, how can you fight against them? Prayer is most effective and if a person is willing enough to look inside him/herself deep enough and see things like this within whether resulting from reading, studying, people telling you, or just prayerful searching but, one has to be able to admit to himself that a problem exists.

What are the reasons given in these verses for supporting Christian workers in their ministry? In essence, it gives us the opportunity to act as “co-workers” for the men/women in the field. I especially liked the example which used the separation of the sheep from the goats. It is one I call on often but have always related it more to the poor in our midst but this gave a whole new light to it. What reward comes with becoming a "co-worker," by assisting Christian workers? Whether in this life or the next, God always rewards us for doing good and how much more when we do good in support of His people? How effective can Christian workers be without those who support them? Not as effective as those who are supported. I have seen it work both ways though because I know of a pastor, one who I have always looked up to, who in his early days of his work in an area where I lived held a job as there was not enough coming in through the congregation, which was also very small and the example he showed as a hard worker influenced people who would have otherwise just scoffed and laughed him off as another “religious fanatic” and while he was working he was actually doing mission work in the town.

What is the danger of "running ahead" of Christ's teachings to "deeper truths"? What is the danger of "running ahead" of Christ's guidance for our lives? What does it mean to "abide" or "continue" in Christ and his teachings? Why is this so important? I have decided to give one space to answer all four of the questions in a very short essay form. Looking at the first question, I’m reminded of Daniel 12:4 where he talks about knowledge increasing in the last days. “…Many will go here and there to increase knowledge."(NIV). Running ahead sends one chasing for answers to things we don’t really need to be concerned with. We only need to know what God’s word teaches us for preparation of eternity. If we go jumping ahead of things we quickly begin to forget about God and His teachings. Our focus turns to worldly things instead of living for God. To abide in Christ and His teachings is to be obedient to His commands. The importance of this could be described in two very simple words, eternal life.

Why does John exhort his "children" to "keep yourselves from idols"? When we think of idols we should think in terms of that which is in competition for our attention which should be for God. What idols distract us from the true God? Anything we place our faith in to get us through the day. Could be money, guard dogs, someone we look up to. What idols compete with God for attention in your life? Housing, income, transportation, food & water. Although food and water are actually necessities, it takes money to buy along with a way to the place where you buy it, and shelter to protect from the elements which is also a blessing are things to give God thanks for as He prevents the panic when they all disappear. I would also like to add a few of things which I have seen all to many times in, of all places, the church and church houses. Christmas trees: looking at how Jeremiah 10 opens, it is as plain as the clouds in the sky to see what the author was taking about. It does go on to say that these things (idols) can't see, hear, or talk to you and can't hurt you but before that, in fact, right at the beginning of the chapter it says not to do it. It is always so nice to see people getting their pictures taken in front of a 20 foot tree which is all decked out and to hear them talk about how beautiful it is while not even 100 feet away on the street are people who are without homes or food, who are never made to feel welcome in the church because they might smell the place up or maybe they can't contribute as much as the rest for the fancy dinner being served, etc.,. How about Santa Claus, or the "Easter Bunny"? I even see these things defended by pastors. Has the true Church shrunk that much? Things parents teach their kids about because they look "cute" when their pictures are taken with them. I could really go on for quite a while on this one but I think the point is made.

What are the two conditions to answered prayer in 1 John? (See also 3:22.) First we need to be at one with Jesus and our Father and then, we need to ask according to God’s will for us. How do we determine God's will so that we can pray boldly, confidently? God’s will is defined in His Word but there are also things going on around us that are not directly written in His Word, in which case we can ask anyway but the answer might not be what we wanted. How often will our prayers be answered when our main motive is to achieve our will? Prayers to accomplish our will shall be answered all the time if they are in line with His will, but if our prayer is strictly out of personal gain only one should not expect to many answers.

What is the difference between saying "this life is in the Christian Church" and "this life is in his Son"? The Christian Church is made up of Christians, that is, a group of people who are followers of Jesus. The Bible clearly states that eternal life exists in the Son of God. It does not say that it exists with people. What should we be doing differently so that we teach a faith relationship rather than a religion? We should be preaching Jesus and the fact that eternal life exists in Him instead of pursuing personnel recruitment into organized religion. What is the difference between "faith" and "faith in Jesus"? You can have faith in anything but that faith will not get you what faith in Jesus will. Faith in the church itself will only lead to disappointment, much like Jesus described taking place when He separates the goats from the sheep, but, if we have faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God, we will not only find ourselves doing what He commands but also inheriting eternal life.

How does a defeatist mentality differ from a belief that in Christ we have overcome the world? With a defeatist mentality, a person becomes afraid of what the forces of the opposition (Satan) will do to him which could be anything from being shunned, beaten, or even all the way up to death itself. A person who believes that Christ has overcome the world is not so concerned about tribulation because he knows where his reward awaits him. What part does faith have in this overcoming? Because you must believe that regardless of what any opposition throws at you, it is just something that comes with the territory. This is a hard pill for many to swallow. One has to undoubtedly know that Jesus has a reward for those who overcome the world. What part does unbelief have in a defeatist mentality? Because of not believing what Jesus has for us in eternity, a “fear of the unknown” takes hold. Even a fear of knowing what awaits in this world is a form of disbelief and is different from the dread of what awaits in this world as even Jesus wasn’t totally joyful about having to go to the cross as even He asked our Father if it were possible that He might not have to go through with it, but, non-the-less He , although not looking forward to the torture that awaited Him moved forward through His trial which, if we had any idea of how bad it really was, should strengthen us.

What kind of fear should we have towards God? The fear we have towards God is a version of the Greek word meaning reverence, honor, or to be in awe of Him What kind of fear is extinguished by his love perfected in us? The type of fear talked about here is a fear of punishment, or something to be dreaded. What kind of attitude should we have towards future judgment? We should not be afraid of the judgement but should actually look forward to it. Jesus said He brings His rewards with Him. If we are in Him and He in us we have nothing to worry about but quite the opposite when Jesus comes to gather His people together.

Why is the statement, "God is love," so important? There is love and there is hate. Love brings together and heals whereas hate divides and wounds. This statement tells us which side of the coin represents God. I’m really at a loss for better words here. What does it say about God's nature? It tells us much about the nature of God. It is the love of God who gives us everything we have. God is the only one who owes us nothing yet gives us so much. God gives out of love but people have much of a tendency to remember. How does love being the essence of God's nature affect us? It shows how, even though we tend to be the exact opposite of a reflection of love, God loves us. Although we do some of the most non-loving things known to man, God continues to love us. If we were created in God's image of love, but fell, what does this say about the road to healing in our lives? God wants us to come out of our broken state and return to being whole, like when He first created us. Why does love demand a willingness to forgive? Because love does not remember wrongs. How can one say they have forgiven someone when anger and hate toward that person seethes out of him/her?

Q2. (1 John 4:4) What in us is greater than false prophets and even Satan? The spirit of God is in us and there ain’t nobody or anything that can match strength like that. In what sense have we overcome them? We have overcome them in the sense that we live in the wisdom of God Himself, living the way God wants us to live and following His commandments. No more loveless, lawless, chaotic mode of living but a life of peace. In what way will we overcome them in the future? We shall ultimately overcome them in the future when Jesus returns to take us with Him and they are left behind for a future that will not be good. How should this truth affect fear in our lives? It means we should fear nothing because living for Christ, we have the hope that no matter what happens to us the victory is ours in the end.

Why is believing that Jesus was God in the flesh so important? Because that is what the Bible says is true and because it is in the Bible it is important. That is all the reason I need. It was prophesied many times in the OT that God would come in that form. Though I still have a problem of grasping the thing about sacrifice for atonement it was in the manner that Jesus authenticated the fact that He was sacrificed for the sins of the world. Why doesn't Satan want us to believe that? The easiest answer here is the fact that Satan does not want us to believe anything that is true because it voids him of his power seeing as everything about him is a lie. What are the implications of the fact that Jesus could live out his divine life in a human body like ours? It was His way of proving to mankind that it is possible to live a sinless life like He expects us to do. What significance does it bring to the crucifixion and to the resurrection? What is the significance for your Christian life? The significance I see out of all of this is the fact that even though Jesus said to be perfect even as He is there is yet to be a time I have not fell far short of the glory, yet Jesus is always there to catch me and put me back on my feet, regardless of how much or how little the fall is.

We know that God doesn't "owe" us anything. So what is the relationship between obedience and answered prayer? God is our Father, that we must remember. He is not only our father, and not only is He a good father, we couldn’t have a better father. To put that into context, even a good father will grant requests as he is able for an obedient child, and our Father Jehovah, who lives in Heaven is able to grant all requests and His word states that we “receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.” (NIV) Do we "earn" God's favor through obedience? I have to say yes to this question because of verse 3:22.

What does it mean to "lay down your life for your brothers"? Reading this lesson this goes deeper than I had anticipated. When I see verses that talk about Jesus laying down His life for us, He meant literally. Images of “jumping on the grenade” as so many brave servicemen have done to save the lives of those with him, or other selfless acts was always the first thing to come to mind, but, after reading this I see it also includes charitable acts. While, in the true essence of the word it would be charity, I always drew some kind of a line between life and material goods. What are some concrete examples of this kind of love in action within the Christian community? Maybe things like taking collections of used (but still good) clothing for people in an impoverished country or even in our own country after a natural catastrophe, or some other circumstances that could bring up the occasion for needs by those who have either lost it all or perhaps never had anything to begin with. If you are in a large congregation, how can you get to know other members so you'll be able to lay down your life for them -- and they for you? Getting to know people in large congregations could be as easy as joining a Bible study group, or volunteering for programs/events. Hopefully just by talking to people one could find somebody in need of something you have and take it from there. One usually finds they have more to offer than what their needs are.

How can anger turn into hatred in our hearts? If we feed the anger, that is, if we don’t let go of it and let it fester like a bad infection. It doesn’t take long for the simplest infraction to get blown way out of proportion and all of a sudden what many have started out as no real big deal becomes hatred so bad that it registers in the danger zone. In what way do anger and hatred relate to murder? It is the same spirit. The Bible clearly states that anyone who is angry with his brother or hates his brother is guilty of murder. How can we get rid of stored-up anger in our hearts so that we may love those who have offended us? The only way we can rid ourselves of anger is through forgiveness. We have to make a choice to either forgive or let it brew. The anger can go into hiding if, over a long time you don’t see the person who wronged you. If you haven’t forgiven the person the hate is still there. Hate is a terrible thing and its opposite, love, should be strived for.

Why did Cain resent Abel? Cain resented Abel because Abel was living a righteous life and Cain was not. Righteousness and evil are two very complete opposites which can’t sit beside each other without conflict. Why did Cain kill Abel? Cain killed Abel out of jealousy over the fact that God accepted Abel’s offering and not his. Abel gave his offering with a righteous heart and Cain with an evil one. Cain was not willing to repent of his evils. How does the story of Cain and Abel illustrate Jesus' explanation of why the world hates us? Because when we repent of our past, strive to live a sin-free, righteous type life, it is but a short time before the world is against you. Atleast in my case it happened that way. I was working in the woods (logging) snow was on the ground and we had been working long days and when I mentioned that I had decided to make some changes in my life it only took minutes before I became known as the “new hypocrite” with the crew and the language like taking God’s name intensified to a fever pitch and people were actually upset with me because I showed up to go to work early without a hangover and at that time I was “educated” by the unknowing on the subject of why the church was a joke. I may not have been as righteous as Abel but I was quickly surrounded by Cain’s brothers and everything I did made somebody mad.